Tape is not getting empty after expiring

[Zahid_Haseeb]

i am expiring the backup from Netbackup administration console-->Catalog but when i am trying to use the below command i am watching that the status is showing FULL....even i close and open the command prompt and even Netbackup Administration Console as well....what can happen????
C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\goodies>available_media.cmd



My second point. How can i view how many space is available in Tape from GUI (Netbackup Administration Console) and what is the state of Tape (Available, Active, Full)




Thanks in advance

[Sriram]

Hi Zahid,

Are you still having any images left out in the tape to be expired?

When all the image expires on a tape, then the tape is ready to be overwritten.

[Zahid_Haseeb]

1st Thanks for your kind reply dude.....

  YES i have not expired all images. i just removed few images from the tape via Netbackup administration console-->Catalog ...is it must that i should remove all the images from tape if i want to see the tape is empty from the command available_media???

2nd i have to remove all images if i want to write new backup on the tape??

[Sriram]

Point 1:

Can you try bpmedialist -m <media_id> command shows for the tape?  If its FULL then
do
Expire all the images on the tape
Run bpmedialist -m <media_id>.  this command will not list the tape if the tape is moved to scratch.
Run bpmedialist -summary to check if the tape you are looking for is not listed.
done

Point 2:

You need to expire all the images from the tape to be reused.  When all the images in the tape is expired the tape will also expire and will be moved to scratch.  This means netbackup has chosen a tape which is expired and ready to be reused.

 

[Gerald_W__Gitau]

If you are sure about expiring the tape use thiscommand:

bpexpdate -d 0 -m media_id

Netbackup will automatically overwrite the data on tape. The command above just remove the catalog entries.

[Zahid_Haseeb]

ok sriram thanks. basically what i was doing ...actually i wanted to keep some images from the tape bcuz some images were important for me thats why i  was not removing all the images from the tape via Netbackup GUI administration Console ..so you mean i should remove all the images from the Tape if i want to reuse the tape.right? .....

my conclusion is that we have to remove all the images from the Tape not partial ...right?

[J_H_Is_gone · Accepted solution]

Tapes are linear - meaning that they write from the front to the back.

if we look at a tape.
BOT|day1image|day2image|blankspace|EOT

now the day1image expires on the tape - the assigned date does not change and you have this.

BOT|expiredimage|day2image|blankspace|EOT

if you try to write to this tape again it will ONLY write in the blankspace as tapes are Linear - meaning they can only append (tapes cannot write here and there like a disk can)

Now day2image expires - the assigned date of the tape goes blank - no assigned date

-------

Now look at it with multiplexing.

you use the tape - it gets an assigned date.

BOT|server1part1|server2part1|server1part2|server2part2|blankspace

if the backup for server1 fails or if the backup image expires then you have this

BOT|expiredimage|server2part1|expiredimage|server2part2|blankspace

remember tape is lienier it cannot go back and write in those spaces where the failed image went.

So if a tape is full it cannot be written to again until ALL the images on the tape have expired.

[Sriram]

Thats correct

[Zahid_Haseeb]

Thanks for kind replies of all guys

[Raghuraam]

Raghuraam